June 20, 2015

U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Sir or Madam Attached please find Arkansas Aerials LLC’s (“Arkansas Aerials”) request for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations to allow commercial operation of its Small Unmanned Aircraft Syste ms, hereby referred to as “UAS”. Arkansas Aerials LLC req uests to operate an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to conduct aerial image acquisition for Aerial D ata, includin g but not limited to, the following industries: motion picture and television, real estate, short range inspection, mapping and survey, agriculture, and search and rescue.
This exemption request is for the use of UAS manufactured by Arkansas Aerials LLC (USA), and Foxtech FPV. (CHINA).

Also attached to this letter is Arkansas Aerials Operations Manual (“Manual”), which is the product of a collaborated effort with a proprietary copywriter. This flight manual outlines the operating requirement, limitation s, and technical specifications for Arkansas Aerials Systems . Applicant submits this Manual as proprietary information pursuant to 14 CFR 11.35 (b).

The Manual contains operating conditions and procedures that are not available to the public and are prot ected from release under the Freedom of Information Act 5 USC 552 et. Seq.
Thank you for your time and consideration, and please let me know if you have any questions
Sincerely,

Robert L Davis Owner Arkansas Aerials LLCJune 20, 2015

U. S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590

Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation

Dear Sir or Madam: Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Arkansas Aerials LLC ("Arkansas Aerials "), a video production company, hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations ("FARs") to allow commercial operation of its Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS") for aerial imaging for the purpose of aerial photography and videography of real estate, pe rsonal property, commercial production, agriculture and construction sites, so long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333.

As detailed in this docume nt and the attached Flight Manual, the requested exemption would permit the operation of UAS und er controlled conditions in airspace that is 1) limited 2) predetermined 3) controlled as to access and 4) would provide safety enhancements to the already best practices safety protocols followed by Arkansas Aerials at each one of its filming location sites.
Approval of this exemption would thereby enhance safety and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation's (the FAA Administrator's) responsibilities to "... establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system." Section 333(c) of the Reform Act.
The name and address of the applicant is: Arkansas Aerials LLC Robert L Davis PH: 501

- 607

-3893 Email: Robert@arkansasaerials.com Address: 1814 Calgary Trail, Little Rock, Arkansas 72211Regulations from which the exemption is requested:

14 CFR §§ 61.23(a) and (c), 61.101(e)(4) and (5), 61.113(a), 61.315(a), 91.7(a), 91.119(c), 91.121, 91.151(a)(1), 91. 405(a), 91.407(a)(1), 91.409(a)(1) and (2), and 91.417(a) and (b), to the extent necessary to allow the petitioner to o perate a UAS to perform Aerial Da ta collection and closed set motion picture and filming.

I. STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR EXEMPTIONS The Fe deral Aviation Act expressly grants the FAA authority to is sue exemptions. This statutory authority includes exempting civil aircraft, as the term is defined under §40101 of the Act, including UAS, from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a current airworthiness certificate.
The Administrator may grant an exemption from a requirem ent of a regulation prescribed under subsection (a) or (b) of this section or any sections 44702

-44716 of this title if the Administrator finds the exemption in the public interest. 49 U.S.C. §44701(f) See also 49 USC §44711(a); 49 USC §44704; 14 CFR §91.203(a)(1). Section 333(b) of the Reform Act assists the Secretary in deter mining whether UAS may operate in the National Airspace System (NAS) without creating a haz ard to the user, the public, or a threat to national security. In making this determination, the Secretary must consider:

• The UAS 's size, weight, speed, and ope rational capability; • Whether the UAS operates within the visual line of sight of the operator • Whether the UAS operates outside of highly popu lated areas and away from close proximity to airports
Reform Act §333(a). If the Secretary determines that a UAS "may operate safely in the national airspace system, the Secretary shall establish requi rements for the safe 2 operation of such aircraft in the national airspace system."

Id. §333(c). Arkansas Aerials LLC’s UAS are multirotor vehicles, weighing 55 or fewer lbs. including pay load. They operate under normal conditions at a speed of no more than 87 knots and have the capability to hover, and move in the vertical and horizontal plane simultaneously. The UAS will operate only in the pilot's visual line of sight at all times and will opera te only within the sterile area. Given the small size of Arkansas Aerials LLC's UASs and the restricted secure environment within which they will operate, our application falls squarely within the zone of safety (an equ ivalent level of safety) in which Congress envisioned that the FAA must, by exemption, allow commercial operations of UAS to commence immediately, Also due to the small size of the UAS and the low altitudes and restricted areas in which our UAS will operat e, approval of the application presents no national security issue.Given the clear direction in Section 333 of the Reform Act, the authority contained in

the Federal Aviation Act, as amended; the strong equivalent level of safety surrounding the proposed operations, and the significant public benefit, including enhanced s afety, the grant of the requested exemptions is in the public interest. Accordingly, Arkansas Aerials LLC respectfully requests that the FAA grant the requested exemption without delay.

II. PUBLIC INTEREST This exemption application is expressly submitte d to fulfill Congress' goal in passing Section 333(a) through (c) of the Reform Act. This law directs the Secretary of Transportation to consider whether certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the NAS before completion of the rulemaking re quired under Section 332 of the Reform Act. By granting an exemption the FAA will fulfill Congress's intent of allowing UAS to operate with significant safety precautions in low risk environments.

D ue to the size of the UASs, permission from relevant prop erty owners or other applicable parties, and the limited areas in which they will operate, provides a substantial level of safety surrounding the proposed operations . UAS operation is of significant public benefit (enhanced safety), reduction in environmen tal impacts (reduced emissions and noise), and the grant of the requested exemption is in the public interest. Add itionally, UAS could replace the use of helicopters and small aircraft to collect Aerial Data. The UASs we propose to fly in this application are less than 55 pounds, and carry no combustible material on board, as opposed to the much larger conventionally powered small aircraft

. Shifting to UAS from helicopters presents a marked safety increase for our workers and the public.

UAS reduce the en vironmental impact by dramatically decreasing the energy used for Aerial Data over a site. Because of the advance notice to the property owner and any onsite personnel as outlined in the Manual, all affected individuals will be aware of the planned flight operations. Compared to flight operations with aircraft or rotorcraft weighting far more than the maximum 55 lbs. proposed herein and carrying flammable fuel, any risk associated with our operations is far less than those presently presented with helicopte rs and other conventional aircraft operating at or below 500 AGL

. In addition, the low

- altitude operations of the UAS will ensure separation between these small

- UAS operations and the operati ons of conventional aircraft that must comply with Section 91.119

14 C.F.R. 91.121: Altimeter Settings This regulation requires each person operating an aircraft to maintain cruising altitude by reference to an altimeter that is set "...to the elevation of the departure airport or an appropriate altimeter settin g available before departure." As the UAS may not have abarometric altimeter, but instead a GPS altitude read out, an exemption may be needed.

An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by the operator, pursuant to the Manual and Safety Check list, co nfirming the altitude of the launch site shown on the GPS altitude indicator before flight.

14 CFR 91.151 (a): Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions Se ction 91.151 (a) outlines fuel requirements for beginning a flight in VFR conditions. Our UAS is limited to operations in sterile and controlled environments as outlined in the Manual, and has a limited range and flight time which require an exemption from 14 CFR §91.151

. CFR 91.151(a). The battery(s) powering the UAS provides approximately 18 min utes of powered flight. To meet the 18

- minute reserve requirement in 14 CFR §91.151, UAS flights would be limited to approximately 5 minutes in length. Given the limitations on the UAS's proposed flight area and the location of its proposed operations with in a predetermined area, a longer time frame for flight in daylight or night VFR conditions is reasonable.

Arkansas Aerials LLC believes that an exemption from 14 CFR §91.151(a) falls within the scope of prior exemptions. See Exemption 10673 (allowing Loc kheed Martin Corporation to operate without compliance with FAR 91.151 (a)). Operating the small UAS, in a tightly controlled area where only people and property owners or official representatives who have signed waivers will be allowed, with less than 30 minutes of reserve fuel, does not engender the type of risks that Section 91.151(a) was intended to alleviate given the size and speed of the small UAS. Additionally, limiting UAS flights to 5 minutes would greatly reduce the utility for which the exempti on will be granted.
An equivalent level of safety can be achieved by limiting flights to 30 minutes, or enough battery reserve to ensure that the UAS lands at the ground statio n with at least 20% of battery power (as determined by the onboard monitoring system and the pilot), whichever happens first. This restriction would be more than adequate to return the UAS to its planned landing zone from anywhere in its limited operating area. Similar exe mptions have been granted to ot her operations, including Exem ptions 2689F, 5745,10673, and 10808. 14
CFR 91.203 (a) & (b): Carrying civil aircraft certification and registration The regulation provides in part: (a) Except as provided in § 91.715, no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it has within it the following: (1) An appropriate and current airworthiness certificate. ... (b) No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the airworthiness certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section or a special flight authorizationissued under §91.715 is dis played at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to

passengers or crew. The UAS’s fully loaded weigh no more than 55 lbs and operate without an onboard pilot.

Therefore there is no a bility or place to carry certification and registration documents or to display them on the UAS.
An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by keeping these documents at the ground flight control point where the pilot flying the UAS will have immediate access to them, to the extent they are applicable to t he UAS. The FAA has issued numerous exemptions to this regulation. A representative sample of other exceptions includes Exemption Nos. 9565,9665,9789,9789A, 9797,9797A, 9816A, and 10700.

14 CFR 91.405 (a); 407 (a)(1); 409 (a)(2); 41 7 (a) & (b): Maintenance inspections These regulations require that an aircraft operator or owner "shal l have that aircraft inspected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, have discrep ancies repaired as prescribed in part 43 of this chapter...," and others shall inspect or maintain the aircraft in compliance with Part 43. Given that these section and Part 43 apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness certificate, these sections will n ot apply to Arkansas Aerials LLC

. Maintenance will be accomplished by the operator pursuant to the flight manual. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because these small UAS’ s are very limited in size and will carry a small payload and operate only in restricted areas for limited periods of time. If mechanical issues arise the UAS can land immediately and will be operating from no higher than 400 feet AGL. As provided in the Manual, the operator will ensure that the UAS is in working order prio r to initiating flight, perform required maintenance, and keep a log of any maintenance performed. Moreover, the operator is the person m ost familiar with the aircraft and best suited to maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to provide the equivalent level of safety.
Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 11, the following summary is provided for publication in the Federal Register, should it be determined that publication is needed: Applicant seeks an exemption from the following rules: 14 CFR §§ 61.23(a) and (c), 61.101(e)(4) and (5), 61.113(a), 61.315(a), 91.7(a), 91.119(c), 91.121, 91.151(a)(1), 91.405(a), 91.407(a)(1), 91.409(a)(1) and (2), and 91.417(a) and (b), to the extent necessary to allow the petitioner to o perate a UAS to perform Aerial Da ta co llection and closed set motion picture and filming.Approval of exemptions allowing commercial operations of UAS enhances safety while

reducing risk. Manned aircraft collecting Aerial Data creates a greater risk because the craft are much larger, have combustible fuel, and carry an onboard human pilot. In contrast, a UAS weighing fewer than 55 lbs. and powered by lithium batteries eliminates virtually all of that risk given the reduced mass and lack of combustible fuel carried on board. The UAS will carry no passengers or crew and, therefore, will not expose them to the risks associated with manned aircraft flights.

The operat ion of small UASs, weighting le ss than 55 lbs., conducted in the strict conditions outlined above, will provide an equivalent level of safety supporting the grant of the exemptions requested herein, including exempting the applicant from the requirements of Part 21 and allowing commercial operations. These lightweight a ircraft operate at slow speeds, close to the ground, and in a sterile environment and, as a result, are far safer than conventional operations conducted with turbine helicopters operating in close proximity to the ground and people.

Privacy Flights will o ccur over private or controlled access property, w ith the property owner's prior consent and knowledge. Flights may be conducted over public property by utilizing the FAA “B4UFLY” App (see: https://www.faa.gov/uas/b4ufly/)

. Public i mages taken will be of i ndividuals who have also consented to being filmed or otherwise have agreed to be in the area where aerial photography will take place.
Satisfaction of the criteria provided in Section 333 of the Reform Act of 2012

— size, weight, speed, operating capabilities, proximity to airports and populated areas and operation within visual line of sight and national security provide more than adequate justification for the grant of the requested exemptions allowing commercial operation of applicant's UAS’s pursuant to the Manual appended hereto.

Sincerely, Robert L Davis Owner Arkansas Aerials LLC